2025 has been an eventful year on Wall Street. The market has been making wild moves in response to unpredictable events. Many market watchers expect a downturn, a recession, and/or another bear market to emerge any day now. Then again, they've already been looking for these negative outcomes for several months.

There was a sharp drop in early April, but it didn't really stick. Whether you call the current situation a bear market or not, it's certainly a period of huge volatility.

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I understand if you've sworn off investing altogether amid these shifting economic conditions However, I've been putting more spare cash to work than usual in recent months -- and I plan to continue doing so. Let me explain why I'm an unusually active stock investor in this fickle market. By the time I'm done, you just might want to join me.

Timing the market is an impossible game

Nobody knows what the stock market will do tomorrow, or next week, or next year.

There are surprises around every corner. Nobody expected the COVID-19 pandemic. The artificial intelligence (AI) surge was another surprise. The shocking dot-com boom was followed by an equally unexpected crash. I could go on and on.

The point is, real-world events have profound and unpredictable effects on the stock market. Some shocks beget golden eras for specific industries. Others can lay a muffling blanket over the whole economy.

So I don't trust anyone who says they know what the market will do over a specific period. Even master investor Warren Buffett can't forecast Wall Street's next moves.

"Let me be clear on one point: I can't predict the short-term movements of the stock market," Buffett said in a 2008 New York Times article. "I haven't the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month or a year from now."

If Buffett doesn't know, I don't stand a chance of getting it right. It's not for me to forecast when the next market downturn will start, or how deep it might go. Trying to time my stock purchases for the absolute bottom of a potential trough is a bad idea.

Image source: Getty Images.

Time in the market is a winning strategy

That 2008 Buffett article didn't end on that gloomy note, of course. He went on to describe his contrarian investment style, and his focus on holding great stocks for a long time.

"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful," he wrote. Yeah, you've heard that bit before. "Bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price."

In the long run, great companies will make patient shareholders happy. If you're not comfortable with picking the best stocks in a crowded market, a diversified mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) will do the same job.

For example, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) will never beat the market. However, it will help you build up your wealth if you invest in it steadily over many years and decades.

So I won't nail the perfect time to buy -- but at least I'm trying

Math is a wonderful science. I'm particularly thrilled about the power of compound growth.

Earning annual returns of 10% on your investments for a decade won't just double your money, because you're not just experiencing those 10% gains on your portfolio's original value. In the second year, you'll also see a 10% gain on the first year's gains, and so on in every year that follows. The benefits really start to rack up over time. In this basic example, If you started with a $1,000 investment, after 10 years, your investment would be worth $2,594.

Longer investment periods will continue to boost the overall returns. Add another decade to that $1,000 thought experiment with perfect annual returns of 10%, and you'd have $6,727 at the end. Going to 30 years results in a $17,449 result.

In reality, your gains won't be smooth. You'll go through down years like 2022 and fantastic periods like 2024. Adding more cash to your portfolio is a great idea when the market is booming. Yet as Warren Buffett suggests, you can get more value for your investing dollar when stock charts are trending down.

What I'm buying in 2025

That's why I don't mind buying stocks and exchange-traded funds in this nerve-wracking economy. My most recent buys have included the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and the more aggressive Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth (NASDAQ: VONG) ETF. Among my hand-picked stock buys in recent weeks, you'll find a few shares of retail giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and media-streaming pioneer Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU). These are some of my best investment ideas right now.

It feels easy to find undervalued stocks right now. I've only shared a few of my 2025 purchases here. Most of them have posted negative returns in the early going, and that's fine. I might just keep buying them at better and better starting prices.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF right now?

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Anders Bylund has positions in Roku, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Vanguard Scottsdale Funds-Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Roku, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If you want to retire a millionaire, there are many ways to do so, without having to take on significant risk. Even if you don't have a boatload of money to invest in the stock market today, simply adding to your position over time with regular monthly investments can lead to significant returns in the long run.

Investing in top exchange-traded fund (ETF) can be a low-risk strategy to deploy that can put you on a path to growing your portfolio to $1 million -- and potentially higher -- by the time you retire. Here's how investing $250 a month can set you up for a much more enjoyable retirement.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Invest in a top Vanguard fund that's focused on growth

Vanguard ETFs typically come with low fees, have excellent diversification, and can make for solid long-term investments. The Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund ETF (NASDAQ: VONG) is an excellent example of an ETF that you can safely put money into on a regular basis.

It has a modest expense ratio of just 0.07% and holds nearly 400 stocks. It focuses on growth and tracks the Russell 1000 Growth Index.

Tech is a major part of this ETF, accounting for over 56% of its total holdings. The next-largest sector, consumer discretionary, makes up just 19%.

As a result, there will be some volatility from one year to the next, but overall, the long-term trajectory should be a strong one. Over the past decade, the fund has outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin.

^SPX data by YCharts.

Past results don't predict the future, but the ETF's focus on growth stocks should make it an ideal fund to invest in over the long term, since it may be in a good position to outperform the broader markets.

How a monthly $250 investment could grow to over $1 million

If you're patient and continually invest $250 per month into the ETF, you could end up with a portfolio worth over $1 million. There are no secrets involved, it's just a matter of simply compounding your gains over the long haul.

Here's how your portfolio's value could grow, assuming you average an annual return of 10%, which is in line with the S&P 500's long-run average.

Calculations and table by author.

Under these assumptions, it would take approximately 36 years for this investment strategy to result in your portfolio's balance rising to more than $1 million. This means continually investment every month for 36 years. But there are a couple things to consider with this.

The first is that your average annual return plays a big role in determining these values. If the ETF performs better than 10%, then you can reach the $1 million mark sooner. On the flip side, however, slow market conditions could mean it takes more than 36 years.

Second, you can accelerate these gains by investing more money over this timeframe. Whether it's an inheritance, money from tax returns, or a profit from the sale of a house or investment, any extra money you can afford to invest in the fund will result in more compounding over the years, which will strengthen your portfolio's overall returns.

It may not be exciting, but this is a safe way to invest for the long haul

You might be tempted to pursue more-aggressive growth investments that promise quicker and higher returns, but those will come with much more risk. By going with this route, you can ensure your money is safe and your returns don't hinge on a few risky investments. While you may see your portfolio's balance fall in a year if the overall market performs poorly, over the long term, you can expect to see it rise significantly.

Staying invested and adding to your position in a top fund like the Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund ETF can give you the best of both worlds -- long-term safety and great returns.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard Scottsdale Funds - Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard Scottsdale Funds - Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard Scottsdale Funds - Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $617,181!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $719,371!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 909% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 163% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.